I'm not sure if this has been brought up, but I need a little advice on what to do about characters with a lot of skin exposed (torso mainly.)

I've been thinking about this since I want to cosplay Kurimu (Crim in english) from .hack//sign, but he wears a logn trenchcoat, with most of his chest and stomach exposed and a large tattoo on it. Would most of you in this situation go to the cosplay with the chest exposed? Would dying a t-shirt skin color work? How would you do it if you are a woman? Any input regarding these questions or other comments on tattoos/having torsos exposed would be more than welcome.

murmur

02-18-2004, 06:09 PM

If it weren't for having to paint on the tattoo (and the risk of the paint running or smearing when you get hot or move), I'd say just go for the bare chest... but instead, you could try going to a dance store or a costume shop and looking for a skin-colored shirt or leotard. Then you could paint or iron-on transfer the tattoo design onto the shirt and save a bunch of mess *g*

kel

02-18-2004, 07:59 PM

How would you do it if you are a woman?

I had a hard time finding pictures of Crim, but I think I have a general idea of his look now.

The "binding" sticky thread in the crossplay forum has a method of binding for women that would allow a woman to wear an open front shirt/jacket and remain decent. (Although, for a woman, she'd probably want to tack down Crim's jacket to her chest to keep it from flopping open.)

Because I'm the "gotta get the details perfect" type, I'd probably look into some way of painting the tattoo onto the skin rather than a t-shirt... Not to say a t-shirt wouldn't work, but it might look tacky (there's not really any way to hide the t-shirt collar). I don't know much about body paint, though, so I have no helpful suggestions there...

ShatteredSunset

02-18-2004, 08:55 PM

My friend cosplayed as Crim (And I as BT) and he just used acrylic paint on his bare chest. NOTE: Only do this if your chest is not covered in very thick hair ^^;

Sarcasm-hime

02-19-2004, 01:03 PM

Use body paint. Acrylic paint can crack, plus it's got pigments in it that are not safe for use on skin. Get ye some Ben Nye or Kryolan brand body paints. ^_^

Hanyaan

02-19-2004, 01:36 PM

I second the Ben Nye or Kryolan paint vote. Not only are they better, but they don't cause allergies. ^_^ And if you don't want the "tattoo" to rub off, get some makeup sealant, either the theatrical kind for body paint or something like BeneFit's SheLaq. They both work. No more ruboff!

Zebedee

02-19-2004, 07:32 PM

Where would one pick up the Body paint products?

deschaos

02-19-2004, 11:48 PM

you could always make a grl version of him, if ur not too picky. lol... this prolly won't be the best solution, but i've always used it... but in emergency situations, or when you're too cheap to buy anything,. then permanant markers and regular markers are your best friends. on your face, you might want to use liquid eyeliner tho.

Zebedee

02-20-2004, 12:34 AM

Heh, not brave enough to crossplay yet (I asked about it for women out of curiosity).

Sarcasm-hime

02-20-2004, 01:10 PM

Body paint should be available at a theatrical or makeup supply store, costume rental store maybe.

sassy_lassy

02-22-2004, 06:42 PM

Just out of curiosity, where are you playing to cosplay Krim, Zebedee? (because I'll be cosplaying Mimiru at the Sakura Con ^.^)

Tika

02-23-2004, 11:46 AM

Henna Tattooing is what I would suggest if you aren't planning to wear any other costumes that year ( or after this costume) that require you to show your chest.Since I am female, if I were to do this, i would probably alter the shirt to cover my breasts or wear a matching swim top, and put the tattoo on my lower chest/stomach.

Henna tattooing is a temporary tattoo that works for a few weeks, then eventually wears off. I've never used it before myself though.